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Me and Mr. Johnson
Eric Clapton
Retail Price (not our price): $18.98
Release Date: 2004-03-30
Manufacturer: Reprise / Wea
Format: Audio CD
Discs: 1

Track List
Now here, for your listening pleasure, the tracks...

Disc 1

Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):

1) Amazon.com
It's impossible to overemphasize the importance of singer-guitarist-songwriter Robert Johnson's contribution to blues music. The same can be said of Eric Clapton, one of Mr. Johnson's most dedicated interpreters. From his work with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers to Cream and beyond, Clapton has arguably attracted more widespread attention to Johnson's music than any other living musician. A decade after his all-blues From the Cradle (which included no Johnson material), Clapton jumps into the icon's catalog with both feet by covering 14 Johnson tunes. With a stripped-down veteran band that includes such longtime associates as drummer Steve Gadd, keyboardist Billy Preston, and harmonica ace Jerry Portnoy, the guitarist attacks these songs with passion, intelligence, and a refreshing lack of blues-rock pretense. From the upbeat jump of "32-20 Blues" and "They're Red Hot" to the slower, grinding "Little Queen of Spades" and "Milkcow's Calf Blues," Clapton acquits himself well, eschewing his slicker inclinations with arrangements that underscore Johnson's rawest tendencies--although perhaps he doesn't seem sufficiently terrified when walking with Lucifer on "Me and the Devil Blues." Still, this is a successful and admirable return to his roots, one that will hopefully introduce an even larger audience to Johnson's seminal work. --Hal Horowitz

2) Album Description
On Me And Mr.Johnson, Eric Clapton covers 14 of the 29 songs Robert Johnson, the most mythic figure of the blues, wrote and recorded in his lifetime. For fans of deep blues,it doesn 't get any better than this. After the success of Clapton 's first two traditional blues albums —1994 's Gram- my-winning triple-platinum, #1 pop From The Cradle, and 2000 's Grammy-winning, double-platinum,#3-charting Riding With The King collaboration with B.B.King —Me And Mr.Johnson finds Clapton once more at the crossroads of blues and rock. The cover illustration by Peter Blake includes both published photographs of Robert Johnson: a rendering of the Robert Johnson Studio Portrait / Hooks Bros., Memphis c. 1935 / © 1989 Delta Haze Corporation / the Robert Johnson photo booth self-portrait, early 1930s / © 1986 Delta Haze Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission.

Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5

1) Great Concept - Poor Execution   [Rating: 3 out of 5]
The power of Robert Johnson's music lies in his haunting lyrics, stark arrangements, and tortured delivery. Unfortunately, in reworking Johnson's songs for "Me and Mr Johnson", Eric Clapton has robbed them of their original power, substituting instead competent, but out-of-place, Chicago Blues-style arrangements and disappointingly hackneyed vocal delivery. Johnson's lyrics alone are left to carry the load and, alas, they cannot.Clapton can do better, and, indeed, he has. Listen to "Malted Milk" from Unplugged and "Terraplane Blues" and "Ramblin' on My Mind" from Sessions For Robert J. (CD + DVD) for proof that he can interpret Johnson's music in inspired fashion. Given the magnitude of Robert Johnson's influence on Eric Clapton, a Clapton album comprised entirely of Johnson's songs seemed a very promising undertaking. If only "Me and Mr Johnson" had lived up to that promise . . .

2) Simply excellent...   [Rating: 5 out of 5]
From the first note to the last, Clapton oozes out gold with this album. It's great to listen to if you love blues music. I'm a little shocked to see that so many reviewers didn't like it. Favorite tracks: Come On In My Kitchen They're Red Hot When You've Got A Good FriendIf you're driving in your car or relaxing at home, this is the perfect album for the contemporary fan of blues music. I think Mr. Johnson would be very proud of this work.

3) Listen Again...   [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I bought this when it first came out and was not overwhelmed because I was expecting "From the Cradle" 2. So, I put it down for a couple of years until I was spending alot of driving time between cities last year. Now, I can't get enough of it. So, listen again. Clapton goes way out on a ledge with this one in the same way he did with "From the Cradle" coming off of great success. Appreciate it for what it is, a non-compromising tribute to a great influence in his musical career. Don't expect a hard-driving blues record, rather a blend of old and new that keeps the legend alive. Thanks EC. No one else would have even tried this. I just finished his Autobiography which was more painful than I thought it would be. I give him credit for sharing this and I'm buying this for my brother's birthday who is also reading it.

4) Awful in so many ways...   [Rating: 1 out of 5]
Right off the bat, it's pretty presumptuous for Eric Clapton to list himself first in the title. Maybe I am nit-picking, but I think "Mr. Johnson and Me" sounds better and shows props by putting the real bluesman's name first.That said, the music on this CD is self-indulgent, pasteurized, homogenized, smoothed-over white-boy blues without a scintilla of character, emotion, soul or meaning. It is criminally bland. Clapton is arguably one of the great guitar geniuses of the last 50 years, but if he is, he doesn't show it here. Blues is supposed to sweat, moan, scream, and even mumble sometimes; Clapton just plays and sings by the numbers. This music wouldn't unsettle a postage stamp.That whirring noise you hear is Mr. Johnson spinning in his grave.

5) flat   [Rating: 2 out of 5]
This CD sucks. The songs are flat. The blue has no soul in this CD.